Loved
by firelight3000
Summary: Just a little story I've been meaning to write for ages- Sorry not the best Summary XD


_Authors note: Hey guys, this little AU's been buzzing in my head all morning. Hope you enjoy, Firelight3000_

_Ok, I have edited this story as the amount of errors in it was annoying me. XD_

_This is set seventeen years after the keeper is defeated and Kahlan and Richard have found a way to be together. They get married; have a baby girl, but Kahlan dies at her birth. The girl is now sixteen and called Ever._

Evers P.O.V

I stand by the hearth, ladling soup into bowls. I hear my father come down the stairs and smile. I look up to see him walking across the kitchen towards me. He is smiling, although, I know it's not a real smile. No one has seen his real smile, not since the day his wife died. I feel a familiar ache as I think of my mother, my beautiful mother.

I wonder if she is as beautiful as all the stories say, but then I think of all the people still in mourning for her and decide that she must be. I only know what Jensen could tell me about her brief encounters with my mother. All she remembers is that she was beautiful, pure, brave and a warrior, desperate to protect her Seeker to the very end. I sigh, wishing my father would tell me stories of her, but I know he won't. Anything from his golden age, is mind locked, I am forbidden to enter.

Placing the stew on the table, I sit and begin devouring my meal. As I eat I pray to the creator, asking her why, of all the people of the midlands, she didn't save my mother as she's saved so many others. I know I would willingly exchange my life for her to be back in this world, to make my father smile again. With that, a plan unfolds in my head. I cannot bring someone back to this world, but I can send them on to the next. I look over at my father now, my plan set. By the stroke of midnight, he will be in his lover's arms again.

Richards P.O.V

Clambering to my feet, I look to where she should be. Where my Kahlan should be, but, there is nothing there. Kahlan is gone. She will never be free to walk this earth again. As memories come to the surface, I close my eyes in an attempt not see them. I try not to remember her beautiful face, the way her eyes glowed, or the way she smiled her special smile, just for me. I try not to remember, but I still do.

As the pain rocks through me, I try to remember what Dena taught me about handling pain, but I can't. This is no pain that I can control, because this is the ache of my heart. Feeling tears begin to penetrate my eyes, I know I need Ever, Ever always makes me smile. Just the thought of my little girl, laughing at the world, stops my tears. I know I need to be strong for her, as she is my daughter and I love her.

But, there is a part of me that hates her, that wants her to die. She killed Kahlan, not intentionally, but she did. I know how much she hates herself for it, I know about her nightmares. I sometimes go and sit with her, watch her writhing in her bed. Wishing there is something I could do to make it stop, but there is always a part of me egging the nightmare on, knowing that each twitch and shudder is repaying me for my wife's murder.

Shaking my head, I try to rid such vile thoughts from my mind. I walk to the door, paste a smile across my face and begin to descend the stairs. I am met by the mouth watering smell of spiced soup. The corner of my mouth twitches, my daughter is an amazing cook, maybe not as good as Zedd, but still amazing.

Walking into the kitchen, I smile at her, taking my seat at the table. She puts a bowl of soup in front of me. I whisper thanks. When I hear nothing in return, I look up. She is staring me in the oddest way, her blue eyes hardening with the fierceness of it. Suddenly it is gone, replaced by her usual deep blue.

Her eyes remind me so much of her mother. The whole of her reminds me of Kahlan. The way she looks, the way she acts, and the way she can read me, like no one else can. No one in time has known me better than this girl, she can sense my every movement, feel my every emotion and yet, she barely knows me at all. I wish I could show her how I used to be, I wish I could show her the man her mother fell in love with, but I can't. That man is dead.

Noticing her bent head, I know she is praying to the creator. Foolishly I say, "I've met the creator, you know." I sigh, knowing I will have to tell her the whole story now.

"Don't be silly" she says "the creator has not walked this earth for many years. So tell me, how did you meet?"

"Well it was when I was trying to defeat the keeper. The compass lead us to this great monument..."

Seeing the pain in my eyes, Ever comes and sits on my lap, squirming into a more comfortable position she says the words that scare me most. "Tell me about her." I am torn, although I do not want to tell her, I know I must. So I begin to tell the tale of the Seeker and his Confessor, starting with the day we met.

Later that day, Evers P.O.V

I smile to myself as I recount all the stories father has told me today. Hearing those stories had been my last wish. Now that is complete, it is time to follow my plan. Listing to the stories had given me a resound sense of purpose. I must complete the plan now.

I sneak into my father's bed chamber and slip into the closet. Once inside, I pull a chest towards me, a very important chest, because inside this chest, lays the life of Kahlan Amnell. Opening the lid, I begin searching through a mass of white cloth and boots until I find what I'm looking for, her dagger. I pull it from the container, balancing it in my hand, perfect. I shut the lid, lock it and make one final visit to my mother's grave.

I kneel before the marble tomb, praying to her that she will be there, when I send my father to her. In my head I hear her, _go my child, complete your plan. I will never be able to thank you enough. _For a fleeting second, I see what my life could have been like, full of laughter and smiles, but then the vision fades and reality sets back in, not today, I think as I go to find my father.

I find him in the woods, clearing a fallen tree. When he hears my approach, he looks up and smiles. This will be easy. I walk forward, seeking our last embrace. Feeling his hot breath in my ear, the smell of wood smoke all around me, I sigh, I will miss this so much.

Raising the dagger high, I close my eyes, pray to the creator for forgiveness and plunge the dagger into my father's back. Feeling my father, freeze, I open my eyes. It has not gone as well as I hoped; the dagger has missed his heart. Laying him on the ground, I ask him if he wants me to pull it out. He just shakes his head. Resting my hand upon his forehead, I say the words that set him free, "Be happy."

He smiles up at me, just managing a small thank you, before he closes his eyes and dies.

A single tear rolls down my cheek as I wish my mother had never died. Clambering to my feet, I turn around, and gasp. My mother is standing right in front of me, so close I could touch her. _You have done well my child, when your time comes I will call you. Until that day, know that your parents will always love you, no matter what._ When her words finish, her beauty fades with her.

Standing alone in the empty woods, I close my eyes and cry, Why her?

Richards P.O.V

Taking my grief out on a fallen tree, I hear footsteps. Looking up, I see my daughter, smiling up at me. I smile back, enveloping her in a hug. Feeling a sudden pain in my back, I gasp. Looking into Ever's eyes, I realise what she's done. I smile and shake my head, as I feel my life blood oozing out of me. I think of all the ways I could have been killed, glad that it is this one, happy to return to my Kahlan.

Barely audible I hear Ever whisper, "Be happy." I manage to whisper a small thank you before I close my eyes and fall into a world of internal peace.

I wake, I am in a field. Standing up, I realise I am wearing my Seeker outfit. I feel younger, like I was sixteen years ago, then I see her. Running through the field towards me I see my Kahlan. I run to, desperate to feel her in my arms once more. Reaching her, I lift her of her feet, showering her face in kisses.

She pulls away, lifting a hand to my face, "you're here, you're really here?" she asks, stroking my face.

"I'm here Kahlan and I'm never leaving" I reply, kissing her again. Turning to the sky I whisper "Thank you Ever, Thank you." Facing Kahlan again, I smile the smile that's been hiding for sixteen long years and pray to the creator to keep my daughter safe.

_Remember guys, all you have to do is press that little button to the right and tell me what you think. Thanks XD_


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